Table of Contents

This resource provides tools for maximizing the clarity of your writing, editing your proposal for optimal impact, and avoiding the six traps that can undermine even the strongest proposals.

Table of Contents

Persuasive Business Proposals—Writing to Win More Customers, Clients, and Contracts

Preface

Section 1 -
Why You Need this Book

Chapter 1

-

The Challenges You Face

Chapter 2

-

A Good Proposal is Hard to Find

Section 2 -
A Primer on Persuasion

Chapter 3

-

Why the Inuit Hunt Whales and Other Secrets of Customer Behavior

Chapter 4

-

The Structure of Persuasion

Chapter 5

-

Developing a Client-Centered Message Every Time You Write

Chapter 6

-

Understanding the Customer: The Cicero Principle

Chapter 7

-

Establishing Your Credibility

Section 3 -
How to Manage the Process and Keep Your Sanity

Chapter 8

-

An Overview of the Proposal Development Process

Chapter 9

-

Writing From the Right Brain: Getting Your Ideas Organized

Chapter 10

-

Presenting a Winning Value Proposition

Chapter 11

-

The Structure of the Letter Proposal

Chapter 12

-

The Structure of the Formal Proposal

Chapter 13

-

Writing Research Proposals and Proposals for Grants

Chapter 14

-

What to do after You Submit

Chapter 15

-

Writing in the Midst of a Storm: How to Deal with Bad News and Negative Publicity

Chapter 16

-

Creating a Proposal Center of Excellence

Chapter 17

-

Proposal Metrics: How to Measure Your Success

Section 4 -
Writing to Win

Chapter 18

-

Give the Reader a KISS!

Chapter 19

-

Word Choice: Six Traps to Avoid

Chapter 20

-

Sentence Structure: Maximizing Your Clarity

Chapter 21

-

Editing Your Proposal

Index

List of Figures

List of Sample Proposals

List of Sidebars

Back Cover

With over 40,000 copies sold, the first edition of Persuasive Business Proposals helped many readers construct dynamic, effective proposals. Now in paperback, this fully-revised second edition still gives readers simple, effective techniques for organizing, writing, and delivering proposals while updating the author’s winning strategies for today’s global business environment.

By cutting through the confusion, and providing dozens of real-world examples, this updated version provides step-by-step instructions for crafting value-centered, recipient-specific proposal packages, with all-new discussions on:

How to increase business using new communication channels from e-mail and electronic submissions to PDF, HTML, and others

This is an essential book for anyone seeking to win contracts and sell projects.

About the Author

Tom Sant is a world-renowned proposal consultant whose clients range from small entrepreneurial operations to Global 500 companies including General Electric, Microsoft, Lucent, and Accenture. He is the creator of the world’s most widely used proposal automation systems: ProposalMaster and RFPMaster.

Special discounts on bulk quantities of AMACOM books are available to corporations, professional associations, and other organizations. For details, contact Special Sales Department, AMACOM, a division of American Management Association,1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.Tel.: 212-903-8316. Fax: 212-903-8083.Web site: www.amacombooks.org

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

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